John M. Lipski

Handbook of phonological development : from the perspective of constraint-based nonlinear phonology

Introduction. Worldviews for Phonology. Phonological Representations and Processes. Constraints. Segmental Development. Prosodic Development. Sequences of Elements. Theory and Application: Not Just for the Clinician. Acquisition of Adult Alternations. Discussion and Conclusions. Appendix A: International Phonetic Association (1989) Symbols Used in This book. Appendix B: The Features Used in This Book. Appendix C: List of the Constraints of Optimality Theory. Appendix D: Practical Guidelines for Using Constraints. References. Index.

Spanish in the United States : linguistic contact and diversity

This collection of original papers presents current research on linguistic aspects of the Spanish used in the United States. The authors examine such topics as language maintenance and language shift, language choice, the bilinguals discourse patterns, varieties of Spanish used in the United States, and oral proficiency testing of bilingual speakers.In view of the fact that Hispanics constitute the largest linguistic minority in the United States, the pioneering work in the area of sociolinguistic issues in the U.S. Spanish presented here is of great importance.

/S/-Voicing in Ecuadoran Spanish:: Patterns and principles of consonantal modification

Abstract Highland Ecuadoran Spanish is unique among Spanish dialects in voicing word-final prevocalic /s/: los otros [loz otros] ‘the others’. This process has never received an adequate explanation within linear phonological models, despite attempts to relate it to ‘close juncture’. In the present study, the claim is motivated that at intermediate stages of derivation, Spanish word-final /s/ is followed by an unattached slot on the skeletal tier, as the phonological marker of Word Boundary. This accounts for the frequent similarity of preconsonantal, prepausal and word-final prevocalic position with respect to several consonantal modifications in Spanish. /s/-voicing in Spanish is analyzed as originally stemming from preconsonantal voicing of /s/ at the postcyclic lexical level, at times counteracted by low-level processes of devoicing. Spanish dialects, in turn, are characterized by the Extension Principle, which states that phrase-final consonantal modifications will preferentially be extended to all word-final environments. The positive choice of this parameter in Ecuadoran Spanish results in prevocalic voicing of word-final /s/, as well as other word-final processes.

New Thoughts on the Origins of Zamboangueno (Philippine Creole Spanish).

Abstract Zamboangueno is the largest and most stable variety of Philippine Creole Spanish (PCS). The pioneering work of Whinnom (1956) grouped all PCS varieties together as ‘Spanish contact vernacular-ff-,” while the first serious study of Zamboangueno, by Frake (1971), stated that “Philippine Creole Spanish is not simply a Philippine language with unusually heavy Spanish lexical influence, nor is it Spanish with a large number of Philippine loan words. It is a distinct language, easily distinguishable from both its Romance and its Austronesian progenitors…” Two prevailing viewpoints exist on the origins of Zamboangueno, which shows both striking similarities and significant differences with respect to Manila Bay PCS dialects. The first holds that Zamboangueno is the direct offshoot of transplanted Manila Bay PCS, used by garrison troops and enriched by central and southern Philippine elements. The second is that Zamboangueno was formed in situ by repatriated slaves from all parts of the Philippines, who were recaptured from the Moslems of the Sulu Sea and set ashore at Zamboangas Fort Pilar. The present study attempts to reconcile the similarities and differences among PCS dialects, thereby situating Zamboangueno in a refined geneological perspective. It is suggested that, although certain features of Zamboangueno almost certainly come from Manila Bay PCS, this did not result from a transplantation of a flourishing Manila Bay PCS variety in Zamboanga. Rather, Zamboangueno was formed gradually in a largely downward fashion from received Spanish, aided by two additional components. The first is the inevitable pidginization that resulted in the Spanish garrison at Zamboanga, reinforced by the concentration of freed slaves from all parts of the Philippines. The second was a continuing trickle of Manila Bay PCS speakers into Zamboanga, as well as a general awareness, by Spanish and Zamboangueno speakers, of linguistic features prevailing in Manila Bay PCS.

Modern Spanish once-removed in Philippine Creole Spanish: The case of Zamboangueno

Philippine Creole Spanish, formed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, underwent partial decreolization toward the end of the Spanish presence in the Philippines, particularly in the city of Zamboanga. Following the American occupation of the Philippines, virtually all Spanish linguistic influence has disappeared, but contemporary Zamboangueno continues to exhibit continuing incorporation of elements of standard Spanish, in the nearly total absence of a pool of Spanish speakers. The present study explores the status of the Zamboanguefio dialect, discusses the various stages of decreolization in the direction of Spanish, and suggests possible avenues for the continued introduction of elements from an acrolect which, for all intents and purposes, is no longer generally available to residents of Zamboanga. (Creole studies, contact vemaculars)

From ‘more’ to ‘less’: Spanish, Palenquero (Afro-Colombian creole) and gender agreement

The present study examines gender agreement in the Spanish-lexified creole language Palenquero. Palenquero and Spanish share largely cognate lexicons while Palenquero morphosyntax is in many respects a proper subset of Spanish, e.g. lacking grammatical gender. Experimental data are presented for traditional speakers, heritage speakers and school-trained L2 Palenquero speakers. Traditional speakers produced no instances of gender agreement, ‘corrected’ many instances of gender agreement in repetition tasks, and rejected a high proportion of gender agreement in acceptability judgements. L2 Palenquero speakers frequently introduced gender agreement in naming tasks, ‘corrected’ many genderless Palenquero stimuli to Spanish-like feminine configurations, and accepted a large number of gender-agreeing items in judgement tasks. Heritage speakers patterned closer to L2 speakers than to L1 speakers in correcting fewer gender-agreeing stimuli and accepting more gender-agreeing stimuli in judgement tasks. These preliminary results suggest that L2 and heritage speakers cannot fully suppress the Spanish elements responsible for gender agreement.

Philippine creole Spanish: assessing the Portuguese element

Philippine Creole Spanish (PCS), known locally äs Ternateno, Caviteno, Zamboangueno, etc., and collectively äs Chabacano, is the most extensive Spanish-based creole language now in existence, and the only one found in Asia or Oceania. Although its contemporary manifestations have been well documented, its origins are shrouded in uncertainty. Available information indicates that the first PCS dialects arose in the Manila area in the middle of the 17th Century, when a group of Spanish settlers, known äs Mardikas, left Ternate in the Moluccas Islands and arrived in Manila, to fortify the Spanish position against the attacks of the Chinese pirate Koxinga (Whinnom 1956: chap. 1). These newcomers (garrison troops plus civilian personnel) were subsequently resettled along the shores of Manila Bay, around the modern towns of Tanza and Ternate, and it is here that the first legitimate PCS dialects are presumed to have taken root. The dialect of San Roque and Cavite City was evidently formed somewhat later, by creole-speaking Ternatenos and, presumably, troops speaking some Spanish and a variety of Philippine languages; this dialect produced an offshoot in Manila, in the Ermita and San Nicolas areas. Finally, the Zamboanga Chabacano dialect is presumed to have been formed following the Spanish reoccupation of this city in 1719 and the arrival of mercenary troops from various regions of the Philippines; this dialect later spread to Basilan, Jolo, Cotabato and Davao, and in Zamboanga City itself, it was partially decreolized in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, through contact with metropolitan Spanish (Whinnom 1956: 14-17; Lipski b; Molony 1973; Riego de Dios 1978). Comparative linguistic studies situate Ternateno äs the earliest surviving PCS variant (Riego de Dios 1978, Molony 1973, Whinnom 1956:

From bozal to boricua: Implications of Afro-Puerto Rican Language in Literature

The nature of Afro-Hispanic language as depicted in Caribbean literature is the subject of considerable controversy. In addition to the fact that nearly all texts were literary imitations written by white authors, the documents themselves exhibit considerable heterogeneity and inconsistency. Central to the debate is whether Afro-Hispanic language used by African-born slaves and their immediate descendents ever coalesced into a stable creole - i.e. a restructured Spanish learned natively by subsequent generations - and whether such Afro-Hispanic language ever re-entered mainstream Caribbean Spanish, leaving a permanent imprint. This study examines Afro-Puerto Rican literary texts, some well known, most quite obscure, and concludes that in most instances there are few signs of incipient creolization, only the speech of second-language learners of Spanish. Moreover, in some instances other Afro-Caribbean creole languages brought to Puerto Rico, for example Papiamento from Curacao, may have contributed creole-like traits to the Afro-Puerto Rican literary texts.

Trinidad Spanish: implications for Afro-Hispanic language

[First paragraph]The question of Spanish language usage among African-born slaves (known as bozales) and their descendents in Spanish America is the subject of much controversy, and has had a major impact on theories of Creole formation and the evolution of Latin American dialects of Spanish, Portuguese and French. Briefly, one school of thought maintains that, at least during the last 150-200 years of African slave trade to Spanish America, bozales and their immediate descendants spoke a relatively uniform Spanish pidgin or creole, concentrated in the Caribbean region but ostensibly extending even to many South American territories. This creole in turn had Afro-Portuguese roots, derived from if not identical to the hypothetical maritime Portuguese creole (sometimes also identified with the medieval Sabir or Lingua Franca) claimed to be the source of most European - based Creoles in Africa, Asia and the Americas.1 The principal sources of evidence come in 19th century documents from the Caribbean region, principally Cuba and Puerto Rico, where many (but not all) bozal texts share a noteworthy similarity with other demonstrably Afro-Portuguese or Afro-Hispanic Creoles in South America, Africa and Asia.

Remixing a mixed language: The emergence of a new pronominal system in Chabacano (Philippine Creole Spanish)

In bilingual contact environments, personal pronoun systems are relatively impervious to replacement or borrowing. Several Creole languages contain hybrid personal pronoun paradigms, but the language contact environments that resulted in creolization and mixed pronominal systems are no longer in effect, and the mechanisms of pronominal replacement remain unknown. The present analysis is based on data from Zamboangueño Chabacano, a variety of Philippine Creole Spanish that has already undergone at least one set of pronominal replacements in its history, substituting Spanish-derived plural pronouns with pronouns taken from Philippine languages. Due to recent migration, Zamboangueño Chabacano is now in contact with Tagalog, and younger speakers are incorporating the Tagalog second-person singular respect-neutral pronoun ikaw into the Chabacano system. The insertion of ikaw restores the respectful–respect-neutral pronominal distinction originally present in Spanish and found in Philippine languages but lacking in Chabacano. The ease with which a Tagalog pronoun is entering Chabacano is attributed to long-standing popular views that Zamboangueño Chabacano is already a mixed-up language—often regarded as “broken Spanish”—devoid of its own grammar and therefore readily susceptible to any and all intrusions. The use of ikaw as an in-group marker among Zamboangueño youth further aids the addition of the Tagalog pronoun to the Chabacano paradigm.